Korach's Rebellion/2

Korach's Rebellion

Exegetical Approaches

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Against Aharon

The whole rebellion revolved around one main issue, the choice of Aharon as priest.

Sources:Philo, JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 4:2Antiquities of the Jews 4:3:1-4Antiquities of the Jews 4:4:2About Josephus, perhaps RashiBemidbar 16Bemidbar 17About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki,¹ perhaps R. Yosef KaraBemidbar 16Bemidbar 17About R. Yosef Kara,² R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBemidbar 16Bemidbar 17:5-23About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, RalbagBemidbar 16Bemidbar 17:17About R. Levi b. Gershom,

"...וַיִּקַּח קֹרַח" – R"Y Bekhor suggests that the verse means that Korach, Datan and Aviram, and On,  who were all upset at the choice of Aharon (albeit for different reasons), together gathered others³ to join in their rebellion.⁴ Korach, being a Levite, resented Aharon's higher position. The others, being of the tribe of Reuven, thought that their tribes' "firstborn status" should have merited them to be priests.⁵

Who were the 250 men? This position might suggest that the 250 men comprised any of the following:

• Levites – R. ChananelBemidbar 16About R. Moshe b. Nachman maintains that the 250 people were all from the tribe of Levi.  They, like Korach, were not satisfied with "serving the priests" and aspired to be priests themselves.
• Reubenites – According to Rashi, they were mainly from the tribe of Reuven. Though Rashi suggests that their joining the rebellion was a technical result of their living close to and being swayed by Korach, it is possible that the tribe as a whole felt that they deserved priestly status due to their ancestor's being the firstborn to Yaakov (see R"Y Bekhor Shor above).
• All of Israel – Alternatively, it is possible that this group was comprised of people from all the tribes.  This position might maintain that before the sin of the Calf and the building of the Tabernacle, every individual Israelite had been allowed to sacrifice on private altars, and the people were hoping to return to this status quo.⁶

"רַב לָכֶם בְּנֵי לֵוִי" – According to R. Chananel Moshe's address is logical; he mentions the Levites in particular since most of the rebels were from that tribe. The other sources might suggest that Moshe singles out the Levites, not because they were the majority but because their compalint was the most troubling given their already exalted status.

Purpose of the incense test

"וְיֹדַע י״י אֶת אֲשֶׁר לוֹ וְאֶת הַקָּדוֹשׁ וְהִקְרִיב אֵלָיו וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר בּוֹ יַקְרִיב אֵלָיו "

Datan and Aviram's complaint :"כִּי תִשְׂתָּרֵר עָלֵינוּ גַּם הִשְׂתָּרֵר"

"לֹא נַעֲלֶה" - what are they refusing to do?

"אַל תֵּפֶן אֶל מִנְחָתָם"

" לַעֲשׂוֹת אֵת כׇּל הַמַּעֲשִׂים הָאֵלֶּה"

Test of staffs

Different punishments

When does the story take place? R"Y Bekhor Shor suggests that the story is chronological and follows the decree of death in the wilderness after the sin of the spies. It is possible that the depair felt by the nation fomented unrest and rebellion.

Against Aharon and Moshe

The rebellion had two focal points.  Korach and his 250 followers objected to Aharon's priesthood, while Datan and Aviram challenged Moshe's leadership.

Sources:RambanBemidbar 16Bemidbar 17:6, 20, 25About R. Moshe b. Nachman #2, R. S.R. HirschBemidbar 16Bemidbar 17:6:18Bemidbar 17:6-28About R. Samson Raphael Hirsch, ?NetzivBemidbar 16Bemidbar 17About R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, ?Hoil Moshe

Against the Tribe of Levi, Aharon and Moshe

The rebellion was multi-faceted, with groups complaining about both spiritual and political status.  Some protested the priestly class, others challenged the choice of the Levites, while yet others had issue with Moshe.

Sources:Ibn EzraBemidbar 16Bemidbar 17:6, 17-18About R. Avraham ibn Ezra, ChizkuniBemidbar 16Bemidbar 17About R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach, RambanBemidbar 16Bemidbar 17:6, 20, 25About R. Moshe b. Nachman #1, AbarbanelBemidbar 16Bemidbar 17About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel

¹ Rashi appears to read the entire narrative in light of a complaint about the priesthood alone. In his comments to verse 5, though, he writes "יודע י״י את אשר לו – לעבודת לוייה", implying that the incense test was meant to address a complaint against the Levites as well. Rashi does not elaborate and no where else in his commenatry does he refer to such a complaint, suggesting that he thinks that even if some were bothered by the choice of Levites, by far the major focus of the rebellion was the choice of Aharon.

² As we do not have all of R"Y Kara's commentary on the rebellion, it is difficult to know for certain how he reads the story.  However, in his comments to 16:35, he appears to assume that the compaints of the 250 people and those of Datan and Aviram were identical (leading him to question why they then deserved different punishments).  As he later writes that Korach objected to aharon's priesthood, it is possible that he thinks that the entire rebellion revolved around this one issue.

³

⁴ Alternatively, this approach could have suggested that Korach took the others mentioned in the verse to join in his rebellion, recognizing that they too shared his grievances against Aharon. [If so, the vav of "וְדָתָן וַאֲבִירָם" is extraneous and the verse is missing the word "את".]

⁵ It is not clear if R"Y Bekhor Shor is assuming that originally firstborns performed the tasks later given to the priests, and that the firstborn Reubenites therefore wanted this position back, or if he is simply saying that the tribe of Reuven viewed themselves as meritorious, being the firstborn to Yaakov.  Since R"Y Bekhor Shor does not mention other firstborns joining in the rebellion, he might be suggesting only the latter.
Rashi, instead, claims that members of the tribe of Reuven joined in Korach's rebellion only because, being camped near Korach, they were the first to be swayed by his arguments.

⁶ See Ramban Bemidbar 16:21Bemidbar 16About R. Moshe b. Nachman (in the later [[Commentators:../Commentators:Ramban's_Updates/Bemidbar|update to his commentary]]) and Hoil Moshe below who say this explicitly. See also Hoil Moshe's position in  Altars of Earth, Stone, and Wood.